Moving is hard. Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.
Austin, Texas has an allure for many people these days. With our nation's economy on the rocks and families struggling to make ends meet, many people are on the move in search of greater opportunities and more affordable circumstances. Since 1990, Austin has nearly doubled in size and is growing each year. For more on Austin, visit Wikipedia's Austin, Texas.
For us the decision was fairly easy. Although we love California, the economy is bad and shows signs of getting increasingly worse...spurred on by the state governments efforts to "help". Small business owners have little reward for increasingly high-levels of risk and responsibility in California, and so the time comes to search for greener pastures in those states that still believe in Capitalism. (I'll save the rest of my take on interfering government strategies for political and economic blogs.) The search for better opportunities led us to say, "okay, not here...then where?" There are several states that met our personal requirements, but certainly taxes, climate, job opportunities, housing costs and quality education were major factors for us. Other factors, like proximity to family and finding a familiar culture should be considered as well. One person's take on the advantages of living in Texas.
Once the decision is made, then comes the hard part: The Move.
Moving with Kids is a special time for the whole family, but I don't mean that in a good way. It's stressful and intensely disruptive.
Make it a great move in three less than simple steps: 1) Say it..."I am responsible. I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves.
My kids are a great help, but its still amazing how often I would pack a box, only to turn my back momentarily and return to find in unpacked. This is especially true with toys, books and writing utensils! We found that plastic drawers worked best for those items that tended to get used. We packed them up, but having it in the drawers allowed the kids to still get in and out and yet repack the things away again themselves. We also packed their clothes this way, except for those that we would actually keep on the trip out with us. To minimize the amount of luggage we have from clothes, I packed the kids double or triple the underwear, and only one extra set each of daytime and nighttime clothes for the number of days we expected the trip to take. This is especially helpful when things don't go quite as planned. But with kids, when does that ever happen? If you're coming to Austin, Texas in the summer, don't bother with sweaters, long sleeved shirts or heavy clothes of any kind...it's BLISTERING during the day and HOT at night.
Another thing to mention is that IMO the kitchen is the toughest room in the house. It takes forever to pack and its one of those rooms that has to wait til the last minute. Instead of waiting this time around, I started packing the kitchen right away, but packed a small plastic drawer with kitchen tools I use daily: a can opener, a knife, scissors, a pen, one set of utensils, a measuring cup and spoons, hot pads and a tupperware container. This way, I could start packing up my dishes and use paper and plastic, yet still function at a basic level in my kitchen.
I also always pack one special stuffed animal/toy with our luggage, because anything irreplaceable must stay with us rather than going with the moving truck. This is also true of any documentation you can't easily look up or replace (ID, immunization records, passports, important account information, school records and birth/marriage certificates.)
Kids are reactive creatures and often reflect our adult stress back to us in the form of tantrums, melt downs and out-of-character behaviors. For me the hardest part of moving is being patient and understanding of my kids. I am responsible for the decision, execution and results of this move. It's a heavy burden, but I can't take it out on my kids. We found it helpful to reward ourselves by getting out of the house for a fun activity or reward after accomplishing one or two goals. Of course, when Moving-Day gets close, that's not really as possible, but even a short outing worked wonders for all of us.
I like to be organized and even downloaded an App for my phone called Moving Van. It allowed me to make virtual boxes by listing items, taking pictures and making notes. This app wasn't entirely successful, as it didn't do everything it promised, but it was still worth using. Having pictures of the packed boxes with a general listing of what was in it was very helpful on the unpacking side of our move. The only improvement I would make would be to be even more detailed on exactly what items are in the box. There is nothing so frustrating as being unable to find that necessary kitchen utensil or phone or the tools when you need them. It's amazing how much stuff gets lost during a move...some of it never to be found!
Most people decide to spend the money and hire a full-service moving company. This is very expensive. Some people don't want the hassle of a DIY move, especially with the added struggle of moving with kids, and some don't know that there is any other choice. This is especially true when moving out-of-state.
After talking to a nation-wide, full-service mover, the expense for us was prohibitive. We then turned to a you-pack-it-type of company. This is a moving company who offers a truck and driver at nearly half the cost of a full-service company, but still offers the full-range of services at additional cost. This is a good option if you need to save money, yet want to choose additional full-service options to make it easier on yourself.
Even this wasn't quite what we were looking for. Luckily, a friend put us in touch with a former truck-driver who gave us the insider tips we needed to save the most money on our out-of-state move. Most national moving companies have their own trucks, but lately, states like California have had so many people leaving and so few relocations coming in, that the moving companies must get their trucks from other trucking companies.
One of these trucking companies that the national moving companies use is called Broadway Express (see link http://www.broadwayexpress.net/ ). For a fraction of the cost, you can hire your own truck and driver. Broadway, and other trucking companies have their own rules about things, so be sure to ask for details. If you choose this option you will need to make the other arrangements for moving as well.
You can save by packing, loading and wrapping your things yourself. These are all things that full-service movers can do for you, but no one cares about your things the way you do. By packing things yourself, you know your move better. By wrapping your furniture, you protect it better. Wrapping furniture sounds like a great and difficult task, but it is very simple. To do it yourself, rent furniture blankets for a one-way move from a company like U-Haul or Penske (call around because some locations offer this and some don't...), buy furniture stretch wrap and handles (for an example on what I mean by this try this link ) , and wrap it yourself (a stretch wrapped furniture example). All your wooden, textile and glass furniture should be wrapped. Even your washer and dryer can be protected this way. Other packing tips.
And last, after packing, everything will have to be loaded onto the truck. You can do this yourself with the help of a few friends, or you can hire a professional to pack it for you, or pack it yourself and hire some lifting help. Either way, the savings in comparison to a full-service move is astounding. Anyway you do it, you should seriously consider buying insurance to cover the cost of replacing your damaged items. Many movers carry basic insurance that pays cents per pound on damaged items. This means that if your very expensive flat-screen TV breaks, they will weigh it and pay you far less than it would ever cost you to re-purchase it. Wheather you hire movers or DIY, additional insurance is necessary if you want to be able to replace damaged items.
Finally, once it is all finally on the truck and the truck pulls away you can relax...or in our case start the long drive. But even this provides opportunities for fun. Take the time to enjoy the journey, go for a swim, see a great sight, play a game or sing a song together. Learn about the destination and get excited about this new chapter! Plan fun activities that you'll do together at your new location and then do them as you accomplish your moving in goals. Moving can be a bonding family experience that brings your relationships closer, or a divisive time of stress and agony. Make it great in three less than simple steps: 1) Say it..."I am responsible. I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves. Moving is hard. Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.
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